In a flashy stunt, friends of Google co-founder Sergey Brin parachuted onto the roof of the Moscone Center wearing Google Glasses to chronicle the descent in frightening fashion. Fortunately, they touched down safe and sound, making a grand on-stage entrance.

More Glasses wearing stuntpeople then went on a jump-laden ride across the roof, ending by rappelling down the roof. The whole event was broadcast live to the keynote audience via the Glasses, with multiple views.

The augment reality-cum-camera wearable gadgets hatched at Google's secret Google X Laboratory, two and a half years ago. Initially prototypes were bulky, but Google eventually shrunk them to fit within a stylish frame, which features a video camera, processor, storage, a microphone, sensors (gyroscope, accelerometer, GPS, etc.), a radio (for transmission of content), and a touch panel for interaction.

Google Glasses: old (left), new (right) [Image Source: YouTube]

Google Glasses lead designer Isabelle Olsson (above right) presented the glasses in their more-stylish present-day form. The display for the glasses is slightly above your eye to be "close to your senses, but not blocking them", she says.

She adds, "Whether it's with family or with friends, we want to empower people to use technology naturally... So, we wanted to pack all this amazing technology into this product to let you do amazing things with it. But that's also a slight conflict, due to that if this is not ridiculously light it does not belong on your face. We didn't only want to make it physically light, but also visually light."

The latest prototype "weighs less on your nose than many sunglasses", Ms. Olsson says.

Google's ultimate goal, according to the engineering team, is to communicate via images and capture important moments in your life. Ms. Olsson says sharing will be "easy and seamless."

The other aim of Glasses is rapid access of information. The glasses can offer you navigation information and local details about your environment. For example a runner/biker could see their speed and a map of where they should turn. In one example, a user even "looked" at a mystery food item to find out what it was.

III. Availability

So want Glasses -- well you're out of luck for now. Google is offering them exclusively to I/O attendees for $1,500 USD. Pre-orders will be taken during the conference and the glasses will ship in early 2013 to U.S. destinations only.

[Image Source: YouTube]

Google plans to later expand the effort beyond the developers later, with a full consumer device, based on its learning experience from the dev version.

The only thing missing from the Google Glass presentation was the obvious unmentioned "alternative" use -- homemade sex tapes.